Improved dental procelains are being developed from frit grain prepared from solubilized inorganic polymers by gelling and subsequent calcination. Emphasis is being placed upon the development of low fusing procelains which will give greater latitude in dental-alloy development. Accessory objectives include the preparation from solubilized inorganic polymers of more refractory dental casing investments with higher thermal expansions, fillers for dental resin composites, and dental cements and abrasives. Frit preparation procedures usually involve gelling nitric acid peptized silica and alumina sols with various solubilized alkali oxides of B, Sn, Zn, P, La, Ti, Ta, Zr, and Sc, and, in some formulations, the rare-earth oxide phosphors of Ce, Sm, Tb, Y, Yb, and Tm. Also carbonate gels have been formed by the addition of dissolved alkali carbonates to mixtures of alumina and solica sols. Then these gels are calcined and subsequently ground to prepare the raw procelain frit. Attempts are being made to develop rapid-firing porcelains having low solubility and maturation temperatures in the gloss fire of less than 900 degrees C. Low-fusing porcelains may allow the development of more ductile and cheaper alloys which are lkely to be less sag resistant. Hopefully these porcelains will cut down on the excess oxidation of non-precious alloys which causes much of the poor porcelain-to-metal bonding. For the dispersion-strengthening of porcelains, quartz and alumina grains and glass fibers are being dispersed into gels. Attempts are being made to fabricate micaceous porcelains that are stronger and more machineable. Porcelains with low working-range temperatures are being developed so that interfacial stresses can be readily relaxed. Additive laws based upon composition are being sought which predict porcelain properties so that better porcelains can be formulated.